It's a Wonderful Nightmare
by S. Snowflake
Summary: When Jack wishes that he had never been the Pumpkin King, he gets a chance to see what he and others' afterlives would be like if his wish came true. But what repercussions will his quick decision have on the people Jack loves? This is something of an "It's a Wonderful Life" parody with "The Nightmare Before Christmas." Expect some good ol' Jack and Sally shipping too.
1. The Unluckiest Halloween

_Author's Note/Disclaimer: I have been meaning to write this story ever since I wrote "The Gift of a Nightmare" years ago as one of several TNBC Christmas parodies. I didn't get around to it until recent interest in the idea (and some odd inspiration) got me going again. I'd like to thank the people that voted on my profile poll for this story. For the umpteenth time, I do not own "The Nightmare Before Christmas" or any characters from the amazing film. Thank you, happy holidays, and enjoy this tale as it unfolds!_

_*S. Snowflake

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_

_**It's a Wonderful Nightmare**_

**Part One: The Unluckiest Halloween**

A long time ago in the land of Halloween, a curious thing occurred. The wind howled strangely one Halloween, and on that day the town was in a fuss. Out of sheer bad luck, the celebrations for all the monsters' and ghouls' hard work of thrills and chills were not going well, and all the creatures turned to their king to solve the problems.

"Jack! Jack!" croaked a group of ghosts to the skeleton king, "We've lost our voices and can't go 'boo!'"

"Then please, drink some specter tea and try to not shriek until nightfall," Jack, the tired Pumpkin King said, trying to be kind.

"Listen, Jack!" pleaded the mayor, "The haunted acrobats can't find their equipment, and they're the opening act!"

"I know, Mayor, I know," Jack answered before he lifted a large jack-o-lantern, placed it in its proper spot on the town fence and ignited the flame inside it with his Pumpkin King magic. "Just keep looking around and we'll find another opening act for tonight's festival."

The Mayor's mechanically moving head spun around as he thought about whether Jack's idea was a good or bad one. At last, he settled on the unhappy face. "But Jack, there's nothing like that show in the lineup!"

Jack tried his best to be friendly, but with all the dysfunction of the day, he was quite an upset king. "Then please, try to find something. I…I don't know what to do."

The Mayor nodded and hopped in his car. Poor Jack thought he was off the hook before he heard the two-faced Mayor cry out, "Attention everyone, Jack doesn't know what to do for Halloween! I repeat, Jack-has-no-idea what to do!"

Jack sighed and returned to his duties. _Thank you, Mayor. What would I ever do without you? _he thought to himself.

A few more ghouls asked Jack questions. The witches inquired if he had more toadstools for their toxic celebration brew, and Jack had to explain that the town had a shortage of them. A flock of bats had escaped from the vampires' home, and Jack had to rally a bat search team to find them all. Behemoth needed someone to help cart the huge Pumpkin into town, and with the bat party out, only Jack was around to do so. The poor king, now nearly into the next life from carrying the huge squash, was still pestered by monsters asking him questions about the celebration.

"Jack?" a soft voice greeted him from behind after a few more ghouls had spoken to him.

"_What?_ What? I'm very busy!" Jack shrieked, not realizing that the voice belonged to his fiancée, Sally, until he turned around.

Sally's wide, rag doll eyes sunk a little as he snapped at her. "Oh…I'm sorry, Jack. I thought I might ask you how my scare-stare has improved for tonight."

Sally was not a very scary monster at all. Jack had been teaching her some new tricks and treats since they became a couple, but her big, sweet eyes and lovely red hair made her more beautiful than frightening.

"Sally, I told you that you're terrifying. Now please leave me be. I'm having a lot of trouble right now," Jack said with exasperation.

"I knew that too," she said.

"Oh really? Was it the Mayor's announcement?" Jack asked, trying to hide his irritation with the Mayor.

"Well, yes, but I also could just _tell_," she said.

Jack understood then. Sometimes Sally could sense things that no one else could, and she certainly knew him well–in some ways better than he knew himself. Occasionally it was almost unnerving how well she knew him.

"Please Sally," Jack said, "I'd rather figure this out for myself. We can meet up again after the celebration."

Sally frowned, her hopes that Jack might spend more time with her completely crushed. "Oh. All right, love. But if you need me, I'll be around."

Jack nodded and continued working on decorating the town square. He and a squad of citizens set out haystacks and harvest décor. Jack planned for his act to set one haystack aflame, though the lucky haystack had accidentally fallen into the dark lagoon and wouldn't ignite. It seemed as if nothing was going right this Halloween.

Then Lock, Shock, and Barrel, the top trick-or-treaters in town, knocked into a pillar of pumpkins inside a wagon. Barrel tried to stabilize the squash tower, but all the pumpkins crashed down anyway, sending shells, fast rolling pumpkins, and orange goo everywhere. Jack finally lost his temper when he took in the damages. His stern, skeleton expression terrified the trick-or-treaters as well as the citizens of Halloween that were watching the scene.

"And just _what_ did you think you were doing parading into town before the show had started?" Jack hollered at the trio. "Don't you realize that we're trying to put on a holiday here?"

"W-we're sorry, Jack," Lock said.

"We just wanted to get ready for tonight," said Shock.

"-I-it was an accident," Barrel stuttered.

"That accident could have been prevented if you three had just been a bit more careful," Jack reprimanded. "This Halloween has been difficult enough as it is. I don't need you three around to make it worse!"

Some of the citizens of Halloween muttered amongst themselves at Jack's outburst. No one really liked the three tricksters Lock, Shock, and Barrel, but Jack was being downright harsh on them. Usually the king was such a pleasant ghoul, but right now he was certainly not acting his boney self. They hoped that he wasn't about to scare the kids too badly.

"Wait a minute, Jack," a voice said in the crowd before Sally emerged.

The ghouls smiled, for if anyone could help Jack, it was Sally.

"Jack, please don't punish them like this," she pleaded. "They didn't mean it."

Jack turned around to her, anger written all over his skull. "You know how they are, Sally. And besides," he growled. "You should know that today's been one of the worst Halloweens I've ever–"

"It's no excuse, Jack!" Sally interrupted, her voice rising. "You've been a regular scrooge all day because of a little bad luck and all we've been doing is trying to help you."

"What's a scrooge?" the Mayor whispered for an answer.

The werewolf turned and shrugged. "-Must be a Christmas thing."

"I'm not being scrooge!" Jack yelled back. "And maybe if everyone actually _helped _instead of _trying_ to help then things would go more smoothly!"

Sally no longer had patience with Jack and yelped, "_You're_ the Pumpkin King! You have a responsibility to all of them!"

Jack pointed a boney finger to answer her, but found no words. She was right, of course, but he did not want to let her have the last word. He looked around and saw his people still staring at him expectantly, surprised to see their king and future queen–who were, by most accounts, very much in love–fighting.

"Well, I suppose there's nothing I can do about that," Jack replied and turned away from a saddened Sally. "I'm going on break for a while before I clean up this mess."

And then Jack walked out to the town gate that led to the graveyard, not once looking back at the ghoulish eyes that all watched him with sadness.

The angry Pumpkin King paced around the graveyard. Each tombstone seemed to remind him of his Halloween kingdom that he was letting down, and every ghostly sigh from the graves below brought back his guilt. Finally spent in his frustration, Jack settled down next to a large tombstone near a hemlock bush and held his skull in his skeleton hands.

"It's on days like this I wish I'd never become the Pumpkin King," he said to himself, then looked up to the sky. "I hope someone heard that! I wish I'd never been the Pumpkin King!"

Then Jack shook his head and looked to the ground again. He never expected to hear the voice he heard next.

"Ho, ho, ho! Are you sure about that, Jack?" said the jolly voice of an old man.

"Sandy Claws?" Jack asked with disbelief as he lifted his head. Sure enough, the jolly yuletide elf was standing beside him in the graveyard, looking down into his eye sockets.

"Ho, ho," Santa laughed. "Still calling me Sandy, are you?"

"I…why are you here? How did you even get here, Mr. Claws?" Jack asked.

"I heard about your trouble over in Christmas Town. And if I can fly around the human world in one night, I can certainly come to Halloween Town when I need to," Santa said, "but, Jack, you don't really want that wish to come true, now do you?"

Jack scratched the back of his skull. "I don't know, Mr. Claws. It just seems that I'm not cut out for this job. And this Halloween _has _been a trial."

Santa chuckled. "It's not easy to be king."

"I wish it were," Jack said, "You know, I wasn't always a king."

"Really?" asked Santa, intently.

"Yes. When I was a boy, I was just a poor pumpkin grower. I became king for being the most terrifying creature in town and for scaring off that monster Oogie." Jack frowned. "Sometimes I wish I could go back to those simple days of being the pumpkin farmer, not the Pumpkin King, again."

Santa gave Jack a curious look. "You'd want to see what Halloween Town would be like without you as their king?"

Jack laughed. "Sure, I suppose. I'll bet they'd be better off, but I suppose there's no way to know."

Santa sighed. "Well, I might know a way to find out, but…"

Jack turned around slowly, in wonder of the idea. "You could, Mr. Claws? You could give me just one day to be the old Jack again?"

"Well, I suppose I could use some of my Christmas magic to show you, but I have to warn you, you might not like what you see," Santa said. "You know what they say. Be careful what you wish for."

"Mr. Claws, I wish–strike that, I very carefully wish that I had never been the Pumpkin King," Jack said enthusiastically.

Santa Claus sighed and removed his red cap, taking out a handful of magic Christmas snow. He blew the snowflakes into the air, sending them flying all around in a dazzling flurry of light and snowfall that made Jack have to close his eye sockets. After a few minutes, the spell stopped, and Jack slowly opened his eyes again.

"Welcome back to town," Santa's voice greeted him.


	2. Into the Dungeon

_Author's Note: Wow! You guys have given me a lot of feedback! I mean, my TNBC stories do pretty well, but from the three websites that chapter one was posted from, I already have 10 reviews! All I can say is keep 'em coming and I'll keep writing!  
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_*S. Snowflake_

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_**It's a Wonderful Nightmare**_

**Part Two: Into the Dungeon**

When Jack looked around after the spell, it seemed as if everything was different. Where the graveyard was normally cold and comforting with all the sighs of the haunts that spent their afterlives there, the new graveyard was silent. Not even the wind made sound. Had Jack not been curious to see what the rest of the town was like now, he might have felt unnerved.

"Well, should we head into town, Jack?" Santa asked the skeleton.

"Oh certainly, Mr. Claws, but how… oh my!" Jack then got a good look at what he was wearing. He was clad in a tattered, brown peasant's suit rather than his elegant pinstripe suit and pants.

"This-this is what I used to wear in my younger days. And yet…they're so out of shape now."

"You wished that you had never been the Pumpkin King. Now you're just a poor farmer again," Santa reminded him. A strange, almost grave look was in his eye.

"I see," Jack replied, "but if we go into town, Mr. Claws, how will you fit in? You'll surprise every Halloween creature dressed as you are."

"That's simple, actually. You see, no one can see or hear me besides you."

Jack scratched the back of his skull. "How is that possible?"

"I'll explain later," Santa replied. "You have a town to visit."

So Jack led the way back to town through the graveyard. The town's structure was wearing down more than it already had been before he left it. Stony bricks were strewn about the gate, where particularly tall, sharp spikes stood on top of the structure. Though he had no skin or blood to speak of, Jack faintly imagined himself being cut by the pikes.

"Halt!" hissed a voice, and Jack looked up to see the gatekeeper, a raven monster of sorts, glaring at him.

"Pardon me, good gatekeeper," Jack greeted, "I was just heading into town and–"

"I can see that," the gatekeeper squawked in frustration. "What I want to know is where your daily crop is, farmer?"

"My crop?" Jack asked before remembering his former duty of bringing pumpkins to the town. "Oh…I'm afraid that I had a slow day. There was almost nothing worth bringing into town."

The gatekeeper growled and scribbled something down before handing a scrap of parchment to Jack. "Take this note to the king about your shortage. He can deal with this sort of thing properly."

Then he opened the gate to let Jack inside. Both the Halloween and Christmas king briskly stepped through.

"Whoever the king is, I certainly hope he'll understand the situation," Jack said.

"Oh, you'll see," Santa answered grimly.

Jack looked around the town square. It was nearly the same as he remembered, save for more dirt and garbage strewn around than he would approve of, and street lanterns that looked curiously like brightly-colored insects. But the oddest quality of the square was doubtlessly that it was desrted.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Jack called to no answer. "Where is everybody?"

"I can't say," Santa answered.

Jack saw something moved out of the corner of his eye socket, and he turned to find out what it was. A small, brown form was making its way across the square. Obviously it was some kind of monster, but Jack could not identify who he or she was.

"Excuse me," Jack greeted, though the creature did not answer him. He ran over to greet the stranger face to face.

"Excuse me," he repeated, "where is everybody exactly?"

The brown lumpy creature revealed itself. She was actually the smaller witch sister, concealed under a brown cloak. "Well," she said with her twisted, witch smile, "I haven't seen you around for a while, farmer. I hope you haven't forgotten devotion day."

"Devotion Day?" Jack asked, puzzled.

"Ohh, so you _have_ forgotten," she said, "Well, the king won't like that one bit. But I wouldn't worry–" Then she took his hand and stroked it, overly affectionate. "A handsome thing like you will be out of the dungeon in no time."

"Madame!" Jack yelped, retracting his hand, "Have you forgotten that I am engaged?"

"Really?" the witch asked with disappointment.

"Yes! To Sally, remember?" Jack asked without thinking of the alternate world he was in.

The witch frowned, now confused. "I don't know anyone named Sally. But she's a lucky one, whoever she is." She turned away quickly. "I must be going now."

Jack was too stunned to speak at first, but finally found the words he needed as the witch was walking far away from him. "Wait!" Jack called, "What do you mean you don't know Sally? What did you mean about a dungeon? Who's the king of this place?"

He never got an answer from her, but a low growl from behind caught his attention. He turned to see his friend, the werewolf, breathing down the back of his vertebrae.

"No devotion?" the werewolf grunted.

"Uh…no, sir," Jack said.

"Come with me, farmer," the werewolf demanded, menacingly.

Jack made sure that Santa was following he and the werewolf before he followed.

"Had enough fun yet?" the jolly old elf whispered.

"Definitely," Jack answered, "but I want to know who this dreadful king is before I go back."

"Very well. There's still time, but we have to go back to how things were in three hours' time or things will permanently stay this way."

"Got it," Jack replied.

"Quiet back there!" barked the werewolf, "there's no one even talkin' to ya."

"Yes, good sir," Jack answered. He noticed a sign tacked onto the serpent fountain that read: "Soon to be demolished, by the order of King Boogie."

"King Boogie?" Jack wondered, then shook his head. "No, it couldn't be…"

The werewolf led the two holiday kings to a building that had once been the community center, though now it looked like a ravaged fortress. There were posters lining the walls of the castle's exterior, each commanding different things of the citizens. As the group entered the great door, a familiar, loud voice greeted them.

"What's the meaning of this?" yelped the two-faced politician that Jack had been so angry at in his normal time and place.

Jack could see when he walked into the light that the headspinner was wearing a dark green suit, and instead of his mayor badge he wore an advisor's badge. But what was most unnerving about him was that his happy face was looking at them while his voice clearly matched his sorrowed face.

"Mayor?" Jack asked.

"I beg your pardon?" the two-faced advisor said, still not turning his head around. "There's no mayor underneath the king. And what's going on here, farmer?"

"'Didn't get in his crop," the werewolf grumbled.

"Pardon me, my good wolfman, but that's not a sentence," Jack interrupted.

"Silence!" the politician shouted and his face finally turned around in his typical fashion. "How dare you push your luck when your crime already convicts you? I…"

"Face! Face! Get 'im!" cackled a devilish voice before the politician was tackled from behind by Lock, Shock, and Barrel. All three were dressed in green costumes like the mayor's and had pieces of candy stuck to their clothes. Barrel even had a few pieces stuck to the top of his head.

"What are you three doing?" Jack asked, angry, "That's not how to treat the mayor."

The trick-or-treaters cackled devilishly as they turned to Jack. "We make the rules here," they said unanimously.

"–Underneath the king, of course," Barrel added before the trio returned to bullying the once-mayor.

"Remember to _keep-a-happy-face_!" Shock said to the politician, pinning him down with her witch boot.

"Yeah, or else the king will lock you away again," said Lock.

"Y-yes, great advisors to the king," agreed the mayor before twisting his head back into the happy expression and thereafter being allowed to stand. "As for you, farmer," he continued, "you'd best apologize to the king for not bringing devotion as soon as possible, or _you'll_ be in the dungeon!"

"Fair rules, aren't they?" Jack muttered to Santa Claus.

"Now go!" yelped the two-faced politician before the werewolf led them away again.

Jack followed the hairy creature in silence before they reached a large line of monsters outside a particular chamber of the fortress. Jack spotted many of his friends there. The musicians had their instruments all set, and practiced feverishly, as if there were pressure to get their song right. Ghosts carried silver platters of who knew what kind of dish as they hovered above the ground in line. From what he could tell, the "devotion" everyone had spoken of was gifts for their king. Jack also noticed that everyone was wearing a green outfit with a particular insect insignia on them. Again, he doubted his fears of the worst.

After waiting in the line for what seemed like an eternity, Jack and Santa finally walked into the chamber of the king together. What Jack saw there was far worse than he would have ever imagined.

The burlap boogieman was sitting atop a throne made from an iron maiden, a roulette wheel, and a grimy throw pillow to sit on. Atop his head was a crown made of dice, and his body was so fattened on insects that Jack could see the side patches that he had needed placed on his fabric skin to keep from bursting open. He was wolfing down one of the buggy meals that a ghoul had provided him when he looked at Jack.

"Ah yes, Jack," the buggy king said as a grub briefly escaped his mouth, "Where are those pumpkins? You know how I love those pumpkin pies."

Jack glared at the monster and merely muttered, "Oogie…"

The boogieman glared back. "Well, well." He then waddled up to Jack and yelled in his face, "_A peasant_ disrespecting the king?"

"You should know that you don't frighten me," Jack said coolly, "Nothing could ever make me afraid of you, monster!"

"Hmm, not afraid, huh? Then why do I remember you surrendering to me, and letting me become king?" Oogie asked slyly.

"I _what_?" Jack asked, not understanding the monster's words at all.

"You challenged me to a scare duel, but you surrendered to me, like a little coward" the boogieman said.

"B-but I…" Jack mumbled, then Santa shook his arm.

"Remember, in this time, you never became a king," whispered the old elf.

"Ha, ha!" Oogie cackled and stared Jack straight in the eye sockets. "Well, if you're feeling so brave, I guess I'll just have to _make_ you afraid of me then. Take him to the dungeon!" he ordered.

Jack was so enraged at the boogieman king that he did not think to ask Santa Claus to return him to the time he knew. In fact, he did not think at all as he was walked into the dungeon below the castle and the jolly old elf followed him. He only could try to survive this horrible alternate Halloween Town for now, and so he proceeded into the dark.


	3. The Lost Servant

_**It's a Wonderful Nightmare**_

**Part Three: The Lost Servant**

The dungeon walls were cold and damp. Something green oozed from the bricks, faint candles illuminated the hallways, and the sound of dripping water never ended. While this scene was admittedly terrifying fun for a Halloween creature, it was still a prison, and that ruined the pleasure. Instead of shrieks of fright, moans and cries of sadness echoed along the walls of this horrible place. Jack was settled into the corner of his cell, trying not to show his anger. Santa stood outside the cell, ready to free the Pumpkin King with his invisible hands.

"There has to be somebody better off in this world…besides Oogie," Jack muttered at last.

"Have you checked around, Jack? There really isn't," said the jolly old elf.

"But there has to be some good that could come out of this. I mean–"

Then something metal hit the bars of the cell and Jack heard the voice of an old man from the chamber across from his shout, "Quit talking to yourself, boy!"

Jack concentrated on the form that was hidden in shadow and recognized it as Dr. Finkelstein, the resident mad scientist and his fiancée's very creator.

"Dr. Finkelstein?" Jack asked with a frown, "What are you in here for?"

The duck-billed scientist sighed and scrambled his brains at the unpleasant thought of his imprisonment. "For treason against the king," he answered. "I wanted my creations to be for good, not to become servants."

"Servants? So, Igor and…" Jack shuddered at the thought. "–_Sally_ are servants to Oogie?"

The old scientist raised what would be his eyebrows and looked intently at Jack. "I'm surprised you know her name. Sally has been a servant all her life, and never is allowed to leave the kitchen."

Jack shook his head. He could not imagine his love working for that horrible monster against her will. This was, after all, the same rag doll that would frequently slip her creator a sleeping potion and tried to end Jack's Christmas disaster with a fog cloud like no one had ever seen before. Surely she would have outwitted Oogie Boogie.

"So sad…" Dr. Finkelstein muttered and turned back to the wall of his cell.

Jack turned to Santa and whispered, "I have to see her."

Santa sighed and looked away. "Jack, you're only hurting yourself. You won't like what you see."

"Please, Sandy," Jack said, "I want to see her."

Old Saint Nick sighed before carefully turning the latch near the wall that opened the dungeon door. "There's a passage into the castle down this hall. It's too small for me to get through, but you can get in."

Jack nodded and prepared to make a silent escape, but then Santa grabbed his arm.

"Just make sure you get back before time runs out, or else you'll never get back home," Santa said seriously.

"Okay," the Pumpkin King agreed before heading down the hall.

The prison guard, a malicious but still mindless Behemoth, never saw him creep by in the dark. Jack was too tricky for that.

Once inside the fortress, Jack knew that he had to watch his every step. His footsteps on the stone floors could give him away easily, and at every corner there could be another henchman of King Boogie waiting for him. He also had no idea where the kitchen where Sally worked was in this castle, and that made him all the more anxious.

Finally Jack caught a familiar face exiting a brown, battered door. It was Igor, Dr. Finkelstein's first creation, wearing all green and holding a silver platter that he tried to balance on his tiny palm. It didn't do him any good though, so he decided to place the offering to the king on his great, hunched back. While Igor was busy, Jack took the opportunity to slip through the door to the cooking chambers where the servants cooked buggy meals for Oogie.

There were ghosts and ghouls of all shapes and sizes, boiling, frying, and even baking insects for Oogie. Ghastly green steam filled the room. Jack carefully made his way around the strange ovens and pans, hoping to find her amongst all the commotion. He didn't hear her sweet voice once among the shouting and sadness in the room, and that made him lose hope.

Then a voice shouted to the back of the room, "-Ey, rag doll, that soup had better be done."

Jack looked to the corner of the room where the ghoul had shouted and finally saw her. Or at least he saw what was left of his love.

She was standing over a pot of stew, stirring rapidly. Her red yarn hair was pulled back into a net, and looked like it might have been cut back too. Her seams were a mess, as threads appeared to be falling out. She already had been such a fragile doll, and now she looked like the slightest touch would make her fall apart. The dress she wore was green like all the others', but tattered beyond recognition. Above all, her eyes were the saddest feature. They had once been so full of life and wonder, but now were glossed over with fatigue and sadness. She was just a shell of her former self.

Jack carefully approached this strange, zombie-like Sally. He wanted to say so many things, but he could only mutter her name. "Sally?"

The rag doll slowly moved her head to meet Jack's gaze, but when she saw him it was as if nothing registered.

"What are you doing here?" she near-whispered. Clearly she was not used to speaking up.

Jack lost any words that had been in his head, only muttering, "Sally…"

For a moment, the sheer sadness in the rag doll's eyes went away, only to show fear and apprehension underneath. "H-how do you know my name?"

"It's me," Jack said desperately, "-It's Jack."

The rag doll blinked. "You're the…pumpkin farmer, right?"

"I-yes. But, Sally, you must have met me once before. Don't you remember me?"

Instead of answering, Sally backed away from him. "Y-you were p-put in the dungeon this morning…"

Risking a scream of terror, Jack grabbed her by the arm. "Sally! Sally! Please, recognize me!" he pleaded.

Sally did not make a fuss at all as Jack begged her to remember anything. He could see, to his horror, that the part of his love that had given her so much spirit was gone in this different world. She was definitely not his Sally.

"I-I don't know you," was all she said.

Jack wanted to hold the servant rag doll close and tell her that she would be all right more than anything in the world, but he knew that it would only terrify her.

"Of course…I had you confused with someone else." He let her go and turned away, preparing to leave.

"S-sir?" the rag doll stuttered.

Jack turned back again to look at her. Her sad eyes looked back into his, and for just one second, _his_ Sally was staring back, trying to escape. Just as soon as she appeared though, the true Sally vanished into this wounded soul. Suddenly, Jack remembered what he had to do.

"Don't worry, Sally," Jack said as he clumsily escaped the kitchen and upset all the ghosts and ghouls, "I'll free you! I promise!"

"The prisoner!" some demon shouted from behind as he ran back towards the passage down the hall.

"Seize him!" cried another voice.

"Hee-hee! We'll get 'im alright!" came a closer, familiar cackle.

The unseen pursuers soon made themselves visible. Lock, Shock, and Barrel appeared, riding in their trusty bathtub. Jack was quick enough to run ahead of them and get into the dungeon, but he knew that they were close behind. When he found his way back to his cell though, he was met with a strange sight.

There was Santa Claus, but he was almost transparent now, like a ghost. And the closer Jack got to him, the more see-through the jolly old elf became.

"Sandy Claws, I want to go back!" Jack pleaded.

"I'll try, but time is running out," Santa said as he searched his hat for any remaining magic.

Jack could hear the trick-or-treating trio running into the dungeon now. He hoped that Santa could cast the spell before they caught him.

"Jack!" Santa yelled, interrupting Jack's thoughts. Jack gasped, for now the jolly old elf was nearly invisible. "…We're out of time," he said.

"No…" Jack said, reaching toward the faded apparition. "Surely there's something you can do? Please, Mr. Claws, I need to change it back."

Santa reached an invisible hand out to Jack and patted his boney hand. "There, there. Soon enough, you'll forget all about this and stay here. We'll both forget."

"Why?" Jack asked, "Why would we forget?"

"Well, Jack, in this world, you never became the Pumpkin King. You never went exploring, and you never found Christmas Town. Our holidays never met, and once I go away, everything will begin to lock permanently. No one in Halloween will remember Christmas Town ever existed…not even you."

"And _that's_ why no one could see or hear you!" Jack exclaimed, understanding. "You never existed here!"

"That's right, Jack. That's right…" Santa said, his voice fading into nothing with the rest of him.

And just like that, Santa was gone. Vanished without a trace. Jack knew that he would be stuck here in this alternate world forever. He would never see the loving citizens of Halloween again, he would not be able to free Sally from her slavery, and the holidays would forever be separated. He crouched down in his cell and held his skull in his hands, waiting to forget.

"Jaaack!" Shock's demon voice called form down the hall.

"Please," Jack muttered to himself, "Please let me go back. Please…"

"Ooh-ooh! King Oogie's gonna be _ma-ad!" _Barrel cackled right outside his cell now.

Jack paid the onslaught of demon children no mind though as he pleaded, "Please, _please_, let everything go back to how it was. I'm sorry for my mistake. I want to be the king again! _I want to be king again!_ Just please…"

And just as Jack shut his eyes and wished as hard as he could, the dungeon became silent. A bright flash of light and snowflakes danced around him, and he tried not to look into the spell that had somehow been cast as he felt himself being sent somewhere.

And when Jack's eye sockets finally allowed him to see where the spell had taken him, he couldn't have been happier to see tombstones and hear ghostly cries from beyond the grave in his whole afterlife.


	4. A Happy Halloween

_Author's Note: I'd like to thank you all for your support on this fan fiction with your reviews. It's been pleasantly surprising to get so much feedback on this story when my "9" fan fiction has been relatively dry on reviews as of late. Hope yo all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, and I hope to write and read some more fan fiction in 2011!_

_*S. Snowflake, 12/24/10_

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_**It's a Wonderful Nightmare**_

**Part Four: A Happy Halloween**

Jack took a moment to fully realize that he was in the Halloween graveyard, then checked to make sure that he wasn't dressed as the poor pumpkin farmer as he had been before. He could have cackled with glee when he saw the familiar pinstripes and bat bowtie he was wearing.

"Well done, Jack," said the familiar voice of a jolly old man from behind.

Jack turned around to face his addressor. "Sandy Claws! Are we really…"

Santa nodded. "We're both back, no worse for the wear."

Jack blinked and grinning wide, then thought it all over. "But…how did it work?"

"You learned your lesson. You care so much about the people in your town that you actually reversed a spell made in selfishness. It's not an easy thing to do, Jack."

Jack smiled in satisfaction. "Well, that was one adventure I hope I never go on again."

"Agreed," said Santa before he looked up toward the sky. "I'm afraid I must be going now. I wish I could stay and celebrate, but there's a lot to get done back home. Only sixty-four days until Christmas, you know."

Jack nodded. "I understand. And thank you so much, Mr. Claws."

"No problem, Jack," said the jolly old elf before floating up into the air where a reindeer-drawn sleigh magically appeared not twenty feet above Jack's head.

"Now go have a Happy Halloween, Pumpkin King!" Santa called as he drove out of sight, Jack waving back all the way.

It didn't take Jack long to follow old Saint Nick's advice as he set off toward town. He was so happy to be back home that he kept on shouting, "I'm home! I'm home!"

The gate to Halloween Town was wide open and welcome, just as Jack had left it. A rather surprised gatekeeper was there to greet him too.

"Gatekeeper! I'm so happy to see you back to normal!" Jack exclaimed, strolling past the crow creature.

"Uhh…sure!" the gatekeeper squawked.

"Yes siree, it's good to be back!" Jack said again as he walked into the town square. The serpent fountain spewed green water, just as it always had, and everyone was working hard to make Halloween thrills and chills, just as they had been before.

"My good people!" Jack addressed all the monsters, who each turned their heads to look at their leader, "I'd like to apologize for my behavior earlier. Somehow I forgot that I have the finest kingdom of hideous, disgusting monsters that's ever been."

"Aw Jack, you're just saying that," the witch sisters cackled, blushing. All the monsters seemed flattered by Jack's complement.

"Not at all. I mean every word," Jack said, searching the crowd for Sally, though he couldn't see her, "And furthermore, I'd like everyone to take a break from preparations."

The monsters murmured about this idea. Some even gasped, but they followed their king's orders.

"But Jack, what about the Halloween Harvest Spectacular?" the Mayor asked nervously as the Halloween working committee gradually put down their decorations.

"Ah, Mayor! It's good to see you back to your old job!" Jack said, confusing the politician even more. "A change of plans is all I ask, my good Mayor."

"A change of plans? On _Halloween_?" the mayor yelped, his head literally spinning at the thought.

Jack chuckled. "Not to worry. My plan is simple. We do what we can, and if all else fails, we put on the good ol' routine. After all, if it isn't broke, why fix it?"

The mayor pondered this idea for a moment, then came to a happy conclusion. "I suppose that's true. Very well. I'll announce it to the whole town!"

Jack smiled as he watched the mayor leap into his car and drive down the ravaged road, announcing, "Attention, everyone! Change of plans, folks! Change of plans!" And when Jack heard a soft, familiar voice behind, saying his name, his undead heart skipped a beat.

"Jack?"

"Sally!" he said, taking her hands the instant he saw her. "Oh Sally, I'm so happy to see you. I'm back!"

Sally chuckled. "I'm glad to see you too. But back from where?"

Jack leaned in closer to her face, making sure he was just a few centimeters away from the kiss he was about to give her. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Sally blinked with a wide, stitched smile on her face. "I doubt that."

And Halloween went just fine after all. The monsters pulled together both their old and new scares to make something enjoyable. Jack and Sally watched the haunted trapeze act together, though all throughout, Jack only thought about his adventure and how happy he was to be back in town. He held Sally close as the thrills and chills ensued.

And when it was his turn to be the star of the show, Jack gave it his all. The Pumpkin King knew that the people he loved needed him, more than he had ever known before.

**The End.**


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